Strategic Challenge Regional coffee brand with aspirations beyond New England Green Mountain Coffee (GMC), a beloved gourmet coffee brand known for its socially and environmentally responsible practices and strong relationship with its supply chain and employees, was seeking to expand beyond its core footprint of Vermont and Northern New England in a challenging marketplace. Slowing category with little room for growth The coffee market was highly saturated, with 63% of adults reported drinking coffee in the past week, and the number had been holding steady for several years.* Increasing category penetration would be impossible for such a small brand, and with consumers self-regulating the amount of coffee they consumed each day, on the average to approximately 3 cups per day,* it would be equally impossible to increase category frequency. The size of the pie was not increasing. The only way for any coffee company to grow was to take share from competitors. *Source: National Coffee Drinking Trends 2009, National Coffee Association Squeezed from both ends by big and small competitors fighting for fickle consumers The gourmet coffee market, in particular, was highly competitive. On one end of the spectrum, there were very strong national names such as Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts, who had deep pockets and big media budgets. During the GMC campaign period (from October 2008 to March 2009), Dunkin’ Donuts alone spent $4.6 million** in the campaign area of Boston, MA – about 10 times the GMC spend. Dunkin’ and other national brands also had the benefit of national media buy that overflowed into the local markets, as well as brand exposure from the non-coffee part of Effie® Awards 116 E. 27 St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016 Tel: 212-687-3280 Fax: 212-557-9242 th

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the business (national Dunkin’ Donuts coffee-only media spend for the period = $21.7 million**; national all-category Dunkin’ franchise media spend = $65.4 million**). **Source: TNS Media; gross figures At the other end of the spectrum, GMC faced tough competition from a plethora of regional and local brands, such as New England Coffee, which enjoyed the affinity of consumers in their area. Yet for all coffee brands, this affinity with consumers was hard to build and easy to lose. Coffee consumers were highly fickle, and generally had a repertoire of brands that they would regularly drink. From “push” to “pull” but little white space in positioning to connect with consumers Built on a “push” distribution model, Green Mountain Coffee had previously put consumers at a lower priority than distribution customers. In its quest to seek growth and gain share from competitors, the first task was to start building a connection with consumers with a clearly defined, differentiating and relevant brand positioning. However, given the competitive nature of the market and a largely commoditized category, seeking a unique positioning was particularly challenging. Business model that hinders creation of consistent brand experience Green Mountain Coffee was available across a wide variety of distribution channels and formats, for consumption occasions both at home and away from home. But notably missing from this diverse distribution strategy were coffee-shop locations. As the only gourmet brand that did not have its own coffeehouses, GMC found it particularly difficult to create a consistent brand experience. This also meant that the brand didn’t have the benefit of real estate as “free” media to communicate its image and key messages. The difficulty in creating a consistent brand image was further exacerbated by the brand’s multichannel and multi-format strategy. This complex presence in the marketplace demanded that creative and media strategies be flexible enough to be relevant in a diverse array of settings and applications.

Objectives The overarching goal of the campaign was to increase sales by increasing frequency and loyalty among occasional Green Mountain Coffee users. This would be where the highest volume increase would come from, given the saturation and repertoire brand usage of the category. If consumers drank 3 cups of coffee a day, the goal was to have more of those 3 cups to be Green Mountain Coffee. Boston was selected as the launch market, where the brand enjoyed a relatively high awareness, yet had unrealized potential for additional sales. It was also important to establish a strategic foothold in an important urban market. The specific campaign objectives were: 1. To increase sales in the Boston DMA by 10% over the same period of the previous year 2. To increase trial and loyalty among occasional consumers 3. To establish a consumer brand positioning that: Effie® Awards 116 E. 27 St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016 Tel: 212-687-3280 Fax: 212-557-9242 th

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a. Was new and differentiating b. Enhanced relevance of and affinity for Green Mountain Coffee Confirmed the brand’s quality credentials

The Big Idea “Inspiring Coffee” Green Mountain Coffee believes in giving consumers an inspiring moment when they spend time with the brand’s high-quality, “inspired” coffee from an enlightened company that strives to “do well by doing good.” All the obvious territories in the coffee market, both functional and emotional, were taken. It was a daunting prospect trying to find something unique, credible, universally relevant and genuinely insightful in this category. As regular focus group methods were only likely to provide more of the same, it was decided to go deeper to get at the motivators for having a cup of coffee by asking respondents to go “inside themselves” and recreate, second by second, their thoughts and feelings before, during and after consuming a cup of coffee. Consumers were asked to recreate a specific instance they could talk about in minute detail. After scrutinizing many slices of “micro” data, a pattern emerged. It was remarkable how many times people wanted a coffee when they felt the need for some clarity of thought, usually when they felt a little overwhelmed by what’s in front of them. For example, an office worker, who had spent the last two hours on a task and hadn’t been able to solve it, or a mother worried about the well-being of her children. When these people hit a mental brick wall, they went to get a coffee. The time away with the coffee, even as little as 10 to 15 minutes, allowed them to see things from a different perspective, and they came back inspired. It became clear that “I’m going to get a coffee” was really a euphemism for “I want to step away from this, take some time out that may help me see it more clearly.” This was a classic way of trying to gain mental clarity, unconsciously linked to a cup of coffee. By creating a conscious association between Green Mountain Coffee and this need to step away and regroup, the brand could take credit for helping consumers gain perspective and be inspired. This is a credible position for a coffee to take because of the physical properties of coffee that both soothe and stimulate. It is an ownable position for GMC, given its thoughtful culture and widely recognized leadership in corporate social responsibility practices. And it was an original insight. The campaign that resulted from this idea created a platform that positioned Green Mountain Coffee as the catalyst to these moments of inspiration, thereby encouraging consumers to drink the coffee more often.

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Bringing the Idea to Life The creative and media strategies were both aimed at creating and reinforcing the link between Green Mountain Coffee and moments of inspiration and a changed perspective: The look of the campaign evoked imagery of timeless, contemplative landscapes where one could go to find respite, inspiration and enlightenment. It was also an ownable look as it leveraged the recently launched redesigned packaging for Green Mountain Coffee, which was an evolution and contemporary design of the previous packaging. This consistent use of the imagery ensured the highest possible exposure of the brand’s equity, and provided the greatest leverage for the small budget. The “hero” treatment of a Green Mountain Coffee cup not only ensured brand and category recognition for the campaign, but also reinforced the quality credentials of GMC. The one-liner headline copy of “I realize…” spoke to the changed perspective and “eureka!” moment that consumers might have, and it was paid off by the tagline A Revelation in Every CupTM that connected the inspiration to the coffee. The first person “I” was used to help consumers personalize their own experience and to increase empathy. The personalization of the campaign was taken one step further, with “I realize…” serving as the platform for a consumer engagement campaign where inspirations were captured in the moment, with consumers texting in the revelations they had while spending time with Green Mountain Coffee. The best revelations were selected and featured in future ads. This platform perfectly captured the spirit of the campaign, and provided the link between the creative and media strategies. The media strategy focused on punctuating consumers’ day and routine with channel-specific headlines to create opportunities for inspirational moments – in specific situations when they may be contemplating having a coffee, contemplating with a coffee, or just contemplating! Units in newspapers created visual interest with “steam” that interrupted the text across the page. Giant painted wallscapes on the side of buildings, bus shelters and street-level retail space in highvisibility areas were used to remind consumers to take a few minutes off from their everyday activities, spend them with Green Mountain Coffee and be inspired. Sampling booths in shopping malls were set up next to where couches were located, creating “Inspiration Centers” where consumers could find respite from the hustle and bustle of the mall and regroup with a freshly brewed cup of Green Mountain Coffee. These “Inspiration Centers” also helped to create the brand experience that GMC was not able to achieve due to its lack of coffee shop locations. Interior car cards on commuter trains and radio buys during commuting hours leveraged the time when consumers were having their cup of coffee on the road, and attached the brand to their experience of gaining focus and clarity after having the coffee. The various media vehicles also worked together to create optimal impact with the limited budget – out-of-home created a backdrop of brand stature, awareness and a presence in the community; Effie® Awards 116 E. 27 St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016 Tel: 212-687-3280 Fax: 212-557-9242 th

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newspaper and radio were used to drive to retail to increase trial and usage; sampling programs and supporting PR created buzz and the full brand experience; and the interactive component encouraged consumer interaction with the brand by posting their own revelations and bringing it all to life for them.

Communications Touch Points TV

Packaging

Retail Experience

Spots

Product Design

POP

Branded Content

Cinema

Video

Sponsorship

Interactive

In-Store Merchandizing

Product placement

Online Ads

Radio

Web site

Sales Promotion Retailtainment

Spots

Viral video

Merchandising

Video skins/bugs

Street Teams

Program/content

Social Networking Sites

Tagging

Podcasts

Wraps

Trade/Professional

Gaming

Buzz Marketing

Newspaper - print

Mobile Phone

Ambient Media

Newspaper - digital

Other (Blog)

Print

Magazine - print

OOH

Guerrilla

Sampling/Trial Consumer Involvement

Magazine – digital

Airport

WOM

Print partnership

Transit

Consumer Generated

Direct

Billboard

Mail

Place Based

Email

Viral (Twitter, FatWallet, etc) Other

Other

PR

Trade Shows

Events

Sponsorship

Additional Marketing Components: Couponing & Leveraging Distribution: Maintaining ongoing relationship with distribution partners, point-of-sale materials, FSIs and couponing were part of regular marketing activities and not specific to this campaign.

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Results 1. To increase sales in Boston by 10% over same period of previous year Sales by all wholesale channels* (lb shipped) % change over same period year ago +20%

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5. To establish a differentiating and relevant consumer brand positioning that is supported by GMC’s quality credentials Aware of Advertising Not Aware of Advertising Gives me time +11 pts or 220% to reflect Establish new and differentiating +3 pts or 23% Helps me to focus positioning

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}+5 pts or 63%

Is different from other coffee companies Enhance relevance of and affinity for GMC

Anything else going on that might have helped drive results? K-Cup portion packs for the Keurig single-cup brewing machine had been the growth driver of the brand for the past few years. During the campaign period, Green Mountain Coffee gained new grocery distribution for K-Cups in both Boston as well as the rest of the Northeast. This likely explained sales growth in the Northeast benchmark, but not the incremental growth in Boston.

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